Silverchair

Press

23-09-1997

ARIA Awards - Sydney, Australia

silverchair
opened the 1997 Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA)
awards ceremony, performing Freak from their Freak Show album.

Later
in the evening, the band was presented with the only award
decided by the public rather than voters from the Australian
music business.

silverchair
was chosen as Artist Of The Year by viewers of Channel [V]
and readers of Australian music magazines and newspapers who
voted by phone, mail and e-mail.

The Artist
Of The Year prize was presented as part of ARIA ceremonies
at Sydney's Capitol Theatre.

Three
weeks earlier, the public chose silverchair as winners of
the MTV Video Music Award for Best Australian Video, so the
ARIA ceremony marked the second time in a month that fans
elected the band as winners of a major award.

silverchair
were nominated for six ARIA awards in 1997, including best
Australian group and best album. The award for best cover
artwork went to silverchair, John Watson, John O'Donnell and
Kevin Wilkins for Freak Show.

The ARIA
awards are Australia's equivalent of the U.S. Grammys. The
event was televised nationally on Australia's Network Ten.

In 1996,
silverchair were presented with an Outstanding Achievement
Award at the 10th annual ARIA ceremony. It was the first time
since 1990 that the association had presented such an award.

The year
before, silverchair were nominated for eight ARIAs and won
five: Best Australian Single, Best Australian Debut Single
and Highest Selling Australian Single for Tomorrow; Best Australian
New Talent and Best Australian Debut Album for frogstomp.

The appearance
at the '97 ARIAs was the 'chair's last public commitment for
two months prior to their Summer Freak Shows '97 tour across
Australia.